Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Has $66.38 Million Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 967,533 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,075 shares during the period. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned about 0.08% of Gilead Sciences worth $66,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $25,328,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 317,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,724,000 after purchasing an additional 60,697 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 635,058 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $51,446,000 after purchasing an additional 37,069 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth about $462,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 751.1% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,322,000 after buying an additional 112,305 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.1 %

GILD traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $78.72. 9,220,980 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,163,236. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.57. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 218.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.